Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
Jesus said to the
Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and
dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus,
covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that
fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When
the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The
rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in
torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And
he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of
his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these
flames.' Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good
during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he
is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a
great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go
from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you,
father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may
warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied,
‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no,
father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. ’Then
Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’
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Reflection:
A man who did not
believe in God and in the afterlife wantonly wasted his life by living a life
of sinful pleasures. It was always a
life of immoral satisfaction for him: drugs, sex, and other sinful things, in
other words he had no time for God. This became his life because he did not
believe in the existence of the afterlife much less God.
Is there really an
afterlife or a life which will immediately replace our present life after our
life in this world is over and done with already? The answer is a resounding
yes! The gospel shows us that there is an afterlife which is very different
from the life that we have today. There in the afterlife exist two kingdoms:
the kingdom of God and the kingdom of hell where the devil and his minions
dwell.
In the gospel, we
see the characters of the unnamed rich and indifferent man and the poor man
named Lazarus. The rich man perhaps did not believe in the afterlife or was
not aware that there is an afterlife that’s why he did not mind the poor man
Lazarus who was in dire need of his help. He nonchalantly ignored Lazarus as if
the poor man did not exist.
When both of them
died there was a reversal of places: The poor man Lazarus who endured a
difficult life when he was still alive was in the kingdom of God and the rich
man who savored earthly life was in the dark kingdom of the devil.
Why was there a
reversal of places? Because the rich man was indifferent to the crying need of
the poor man Lazarus. If he only knew that Lazarus was very close to God. If he only knew that Lazarus could have been God in disguise. The
lesson for us is very simple, we should not ignore the crying need of the poor
and we should always be sensitive to their plight.
What do you do when
you encounter the poor? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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